In 1945, Newell Sargent and his wife, Mabel, purchased a bottling facility in Worland, Wyo. The plant opened for business two years later with a single production line that bottled Canada Dry, Pepsi and Nesbitt Orange sodas. Two full-time employees produced, sold and distributed about 1,100 cases a week, according to the company. In 1948, the couple acquired the Schlitz Beer franchise, which helped them survive sugar rationing difficulties during the Korean War, it says.

Admiral Beverage and affiliated companies have been quenching the thirst of the Pepsi generation for over 50 years.